CTV Two

BC Conservative joins Liberals

The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, January 10, 2013 2:44PM PST
Last Updated Thursday, January 10, 2013 3:24PM PST

One of the people who used to be responsible for finding candidates for the BC Conservative party has jumped ship to join the BC Liberals.

Shannon Kewley was the former co-chair of the Conservatives candidate recruitment committee, and as late as last September she backed party leader John Cummins when he faced a challenge of his leadership.

The Liberals say Kewley has abandoned the Tories because she feels they're no longer a credible alternative to the New Democratic Party.

In a statement, Kewley says while she still respects many of her former colleagues, she believes the Liberals offer the best opportunity to keep B.C. on a sound economic footing.

Last fall, the Conservative's only sitting MLA, former Liberal John van Dongen, quit the Tories to sit as an independent after a rift with Cummins.

About the same time, the party mailed letters of expulsion or censure to 15 of its members after internal divisions became public, with some members demanding Cummins be replaced.